Rovers’ late, late recovery leaves Gaels gutted
Crossmolina players embrace one another after the full-time whistle. The North Mayo side managed to overcome five points arrears to win by two points.
Some famous victories are recorded in the annals of Crossmolina Deel Rovers, national titles among them, but whether there was ever one so dramatic as Sunday’s annexing of Mayo’s under-21 ‘B’ football championship title is debatable.
The North Mayo club’s two points win against Mayo Gaels was as opportunistic as they come yet it would also be a disservice to describe Crossmolina’s triumph as smash-and-grab, for while they only took the lead for the very first time in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, they had remained on the coattails of Mayo Gaels from the very first whistle.
The biggest lead that Gaels had enjoyed was five points, when they struck a goal and two points unanswered in the opening seven minutes of the second-half. But to add just three more points for the remainder of the match was fatal, as a tidal wave of Crossmolina pressure eventually consumed the boys from mid-Mayo.
Six points in the second-half alone from James Maheady, including five from frees, coupled with two crucial late points by substitutes Jack Naughton and Aaron Coggins, helped turn this county final on its head.
With seven of the Mayo Gaels team having featured in their club’s final game of this year’s Mayo SFC against Breaffy, and six of the Crossmolina team having also started the narrow defeat to Castlebar Mitchels ‘B’ in their club’s final game of this season’s intermediate championship, a high quality affair had been anticipated – and boy did it deliver, in spite of the poor weather conditions.
For Gaels, Ethan Henry was kicking points from another planet and Jack Fallon scored the sort of goals that dreams are made of while for Crossmolina, the footwork of nimble Niall Coggins in attack would have put the contestants of Strictly Come Dancing to shame while the accuracy of James Maheady rivalled that of an Olympic archer. But ultimately the game hinged on a 55th minute save by Crossmolina goalkeeper Conor Reynolds.
David Quinn had delightfully chipped up a low delivery and looked set to crash home Mayo Gaels’ third goal of the game and push their lead out to five points. To be fair, Quinn didn’t do much wrong but the full-forward’s bullet which was aimed for the bottom left corner was met by the outstretched boot of Reynolds, with the ball ricocheting off the post and out for an unconverted ’45.
It's hard to see how Rovers would have recovered given the few minutes that remained left to play whereas they gained oxygen from the reprieve and reeled off five of the game’s final six points to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The outcome was especially cruel on the Gaels duo of Henry and Fallon, as both held rightful claims to the man-of-the-match award after majestic displays around the middle of the pitch and in front of the posts.
Jack Fallon, in particular, had helped his side spring from the traps, scoring 1-1 inside 150 seconds of the throw-in, as the kick-out from his opening point was secured by Gaels and Fallon shrugged off his marker Niall Maughan before unleashing a thunderbolt past ‘keeper Conor Reynolds into the top left corner.
Crossmolina had to wait until the ninth minute to open their account but it was worth the wait as James Maheady’s sideline delivery was punched by Gaels goalkeeper Jarlath Judge into the path of Niall Coggins who fired to the gaping net.
Maheady then negated the first of Ethan Henry’s five points but three-in-a-row by Ruairí Keane, Nathan McGurrin and Henry, this one a long-range stunner off the outside of his boot, saw Mayo Gaels lead 1-5 to 1-1 after eighteen minutes.
Crossmolina’s greatest asset at this stage was the pace – and attacking instinct – of wing-forward Niall Coggins, and it was his drive in particular that inspired a much better second quarter by the Deelsiders. Coggins slipped in team captain Diarmaid Walsh for a point before Walsh was then fouled for the award of a 22nd-minute penalty that gave the Deelsiders a perfect opportunity to draw level, except that Eoin Murphy’s kick got lodged between the diving legs of Jarlath Judge and Gaels cleared their lines.
Fallon immediately rubbed salt into the wound by scoring a point down the other end and Crossmolina’s situation should have deteriorated further when Fallon handpassed through to Padraig Jennings except that the Gaels captain drilled a glorious goal chance inches wide on 25 minutes.
Points by James Maheady and Niall Coggins, fisting over after a scintillating run through the middle, reduced their side’s arrears to two points and although Ethan Henry kicked another exceptional point, almost identical to his last, the game was all-square at the change of ends as Crossmolina closed out the half with a stunning goal from Diarmaid Coggins. Unsurprisingly, it was his brother Niall’s speed that had unhinged the Mayo Gaels defence but Diarmaid’s finish into the top right corner also had to be seen to be fully appreciated.
Gaels needed barely ten seconds of the second-half to regain the lead however, as Jack Fallon tore forward from the throw-in and just as he had so early in the first-half, slammed the ball to the Crossmolina net. And with Padraig Jennings, from a free, and Ethan Henry, after an excellent right-wing run, following up with 34th and 37th-minute points, Mayo Gaels now held a 2-9 to 2-4 advantage. They could very well have found the net again in the 39th minute but some excellent covering by Aaron Coggins saw Crossmolina’s half-time substitute combine with his goalkeeper to deny Fallon his hat-trick goal after Ruairí Keane had slipped him through.
Two points by James Maheady, including his first from a free, were countered by a skyscraper from Fallon, but midfielder Cillian Fergus and Maheady, again from a free, raised further whites to reduce Crossmolina’s deficit to two points after 50 minutes.
A mesmerising solo run by Ethan Henry could have resulted in a goal but his shot flew over and ended up negated by another Maheady free. Then came David Quinn’s goal chance which Conor Reynolds kept out to keep the Maroon and White breathing.
Three minutes later the sides were level as Maheady scored one free and won another, which sub Jack Naughton fired over, to leave the scoreboard reading 2-11 apiece with two minutes of normal time left to play. Peter Gallagher popped up with his first point to nudge Gaels back in front but the wind was firmly in Crossmolina’s sails at this stage and singles during five minutes of stoppage time by Diarmuid Coggins, Aaron Coggins, a very useful second-half addition and whose point was the lead giver, and James Maheady, from a 55-metre free, saw the North Mayo outfit achieve what for so long had seemed the improbable.
Scorers – Crossmolina: James Maheady 0-8 (6f), Niall Coggins and Diarmuid Coggins 1-1 each, Diarmuid Walsh, Cillian Fergus, Jack Naughton (f) and Aaron Coggins 0-1 each.
Mayo Gaels: Jack Fallon 2-3, Ethan Henry 0-5, Ruairí Keane, Nathan McGurrin, Padraig Jennings (f) and Peter Gallagher 0-1 each.
Crossmolina: Conor Reynolds; Liam Connor, Matthew Gordetskyy, Diarmuid Fox; Joe Gill, Niall Maughan, Eoin O’Boyle; Cillian Fergus, Darragh Syron; Danny McDonald, James Maheady, Niall Coggins; Diarmuid Coggins, Eoin Murphy, Diarmaid Walsh. Subs: Aaron Coggins (for O’Boyle ht), Jack Naughton (for McDonald 38), Adam Mills (for Murphy 51), O’Boyle (for Gordetskyy 54).
Mayo Gaels: Jarlath Judge; John Finn, Conor Burke, Jack Jordan; Aaron Moran, Matthew Quinn, Enda Jennings; Ethan Henry, Ruairí Keane; Nathan McGurrin, Jack Fallon, Oisín Moran; Peter Gallagher, David Quinn, Padraig Jennings. Subs: Eoghan Brogan (for P Jennings 45), James Finn (for E Jennings 60+2, inj).
REF: Jerome Henry (Castlebar)
